Katherine would be so PROUD!

Maddie came home from school one day with a flyer about a Youth Symphony program sponsored by the city.  It is run by local high school students who are very accomplished symphony students.  I was a bit leery about it but we checked it out and Maddie really wanted to join so she did.  The best part of it all, it was totally free.  WOW!!  Here she is at the Christmas concert.  She did a great job.  Katherine, our violin teacher in Virginia, would be so proud!!  Maddie has real talent when it comes to playing. 

 Before the show...a bit nervous

 Ready position...

 A natural born player!

What a good looking bunch

11 years ago...

11 reasons why I love Jeff

11 - He is willing to put up with my "projects"

10 - He works hard so I can be home with
our children and he loves dentistry

9 - He has the most gorgeous green eyes (it's the first thing I noticed about him) and a super hot body!

8 - He is positive, upbeat, and nice
to everyone all the time

7 - He loves me despite my imperfections

6 - He makes me laugh daily and he
puts up with my humor

5 - He can do anything he sets his mind to

4 - He is my BEST FRIEND

3 - He is a spiritual GIANT and has
unshakeable faith in the gospel

2 - He never forgets to kiss me when he leaves

1 - He is the best croquet player of all time

Disclaimer....Jeff was not seriously hurt during the
filming of this video.  Once again
he made me laugh.


I can't believe it's been 11 years.  I Love you!
Thanks for asking!  I am one lucky gal-

Ice Skating

We decided to take the kids ice-skating. Hmmm, ice skating outside in San Diego....this could be interesting!! I wasn't quite sure how to dress the kids since it was so warm outside but the ice would be cold. I did my best to use my logic. I decided long pants and long sleeves so they wouldn't scratch their knees and elbows. I took jackets, gloves and hats just in case. Well, it turns out that water proof gear would have been much better. Since it was so warm outside, the ice rink was more like a puddle of water. Every time someone fell, they got soaking wet. It was very entertaining to say the least!!

We arrived and found Santa waiting outside the rink.

Parker wasn't too sure about this strange man.

We got all ready and Maddie was a real

pro right from the start!

She got going pretty fast

Parker skated with Jeff until....

he got brave and wanted to skate on his own

It lasted about 3 seconds

and then he fell down

Lauren wasn't taking any chances.

She didn't want to get wet

-SMART GAL!!-

Oops- she slipped but didn't go all the

way down. She stayed dry

There's nothing like holding on tight

to dad's strong hands

The girls skated a lap together

They must be having fun because I

got a big thumbs up from everyone

One happy girl!

Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Maddie and I hosted our Mother/Daughter book club at our house for the month of December. The book was "From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". It was a great book and one I would recommend to young readers. We always have some sort activity that relates to the book along with a discussion about what we read. We made gingerbread houses for the activity. The girls did a great job with them. They were very creative!

Rachel, Maia, Adi, Rylee, Ainsley, Maddie, Lauren

Maddie chose to lead the discussion while

standing on a chair in the kitchen.

She was "large and in charge!"

Boc, Boc

Boc, Boc - Look who got the Chicken Pox....or as Parker referred to them, the Chicken Pops. Thankfully, it was a mild case, no one else got them, and they were gone in time for us to take off on our Christmas travels.

Turkey Day

Very slowly but surely, I am catching up. Thanksgiving was WONDERFUL this year. I bought everything we needed to have a nice, quiet, low key Thanksgiving with just the 5 of us gathered around our own kitchen table. I had a plan in place of when I would make the pies, cook the turkey, start the 7 hour salad, prepare the rolls, etc. I had it almost down to the minute. I had even built going to see a movie into the schedule. In years past, I've done all the cooking myself and well, let's face it...it hasn't been the best but I am learning new things each time I cook Thanksgiving dinner. I was determined and excited to make this year the best one yet. Well......a few days before Thanksgiving, I was chatting with a friend of mine and I asked her how many people she was hosting for dinner this year. She told me she was having about 40 people or so. WOW!! That's a lot of people. She then invited us to join in on the fun. What's 5 more people? I was hesitant about crashing the party but she insisted and so we went. All I had to contribute was a salad and a dessert. It was indeed a feast!! I have never seen so much food at Thanksgiving before. It was so great. I cooked my turkey the next day so we had left overs. It was heavenly!! Hmmmm, where can we go next year?? I didn't take my camera so I didn't get a single picture until we got home. We have a few holiday traditions that start on Thanksgiving evening.

I am thankful for my children!!

(dirty faces and all)

My kids always get their Christmas PJ's on

Thanksgiving night. I figure this way they

can wear them the entire Christmas season

Maddie wasn't very excited about hers

and neither was Parker.

They were disappointed with what

was in the boxes. They wanted "REAL"

presents. I don't know what they were

expecting. We do this EVERY year!!

Lauren was a little more excited but not by much

Finally, I convinced them to put on

their new PJ's and the smiles

and sillies came out

Don't they look so snuggly and warm?

I even bought myself a pair....after all

pajamas are my FAVORITE all time

thing to wear. So comfy!!

I couldn't leave the sweet Dr. out so I searched

until I found the perfect pair of pajamas

for a dentist. Obnoxious fleece smiley pants

Chocolate oranges are another must have

on Thanksgiving night. We always

"whack and unwrap" our first orange of

the season. We each eat a few slices and it

is purely blissful. You can see Lauren

was overly excited about opening the orange

Maddie couldn't contain her excitement either

and Parker was excited that he could hold

his orange while doing finger tricks

The final piece to our Thanksgiving night

traditions is a glass of Egg Nog. We drink

a small (emphasis on small) glass of

Egg Nog and toast in the Christmas season.

...and to all a good night!

Some Knives, 2 Vampires & a Pirate

I realize I am way behind, but hey....better late than never, Right!? October was filled with lots of fun. The month ended with our favorite holiday. We carved our pumpkins on Halloween Eve.

Hey, who gave these kids knives?

Lauren cleaned hers out neatly while....

Maddie dove in with full force!

Parker just observed from he sidelines while

Jeff put the finishing touches on Maddie's pumpkin.

Pumpkin Jack is becoming a regular tradition

Lauren settled for something a bit more simple.

She was happy with a bat

Of course there was no question what to be for Halloween this year. VAMPIRES!! Maddie loves custom fangs from Jeff and so she convinced Lauren to get some made too. Parker on the other hand, could care less. He was more excited to have a sword and an eye patch than have fangs. The kids were excited that they got to dress up two nights in a row. First for Trunk or Treat and the next night for Halloween trick or treating.

A close up look at the fangs...

Parker wasn't feeling very good so no smiles from him

Lauren giving her best "mean" vampire look

Maddie very proudly showing off

Pumpkin Jack

Parker got a little spring in his step when it

came time to actually go collect the candy.

Just a series of random pictures of the girls

being silly after "Trunk or Treat"

I love their faces in this one!!

Can't you just feel the love in this one??

My and my little Pirate

Arrghh Matey!

Happy

Halloween

Night!

Look at all the loot Maddie collected!

Lauren was so excited about all her candy

that she laid on the floor and rolled in it

Parker didn't last long collecting candy.

His legs were tired and he was content

to sit on the porch in his Mickey chair

and pass out candy with dad.